Be Afraid and Do It Anyway | Sibylle

As I am getting ready to co-host my first retreat in Knysna, South Africa, I am very conscious of what I call my red flags of fear. 

My red flags of fear are the voices in my head that are working overtime. Day and night they tell me what could go wrong and that there’s still time to back out. 

Maybe I’m not ready?
What if I get Covid?
Why would I want to risk falling flat on my face? 

The list goes on. Sound familiar?  

Now don’t get me wrong. Healthy fear does keep us safe and alive, but then there is irrational fear, the fear that keeps us stuck. 

Shirzad Chamine, Stanford lecturer, founder and CEO of Positive Intelligence, Inc., cautions us against irrational fear. “Do not to trust the voice of fear. Be afraid and do it anyway,” he says. 

Shirzad identified nine sabotaging voices, so called “saboteurs”. Nine voices that are never happy, never satisfied with self, with others and with life in general. These saboteurs seem to continually scan for what is wrong or what could go wrong in life. Just to keep us safe and in the comfort zone.

Do you know what I am talking about? 

I thought to share my three main culprits, my top red flags, so that you get the idea. If you want to find out more about your own saboteurs, please click on the link at the bottom of the page for a FREE assessment tool.

Here are my red flags of fear:

1. Hypervigilant
There’s always an upside or downside in life. My hypervigilant voice of fear excels in identifying the worst that could happen.

Planning a first corporate training? I can think of a million things that could go wrong. 

“No-one is interested.” “I will lose all my money.” “It’s so hopeless.” “I’m a mess.” “Let’s leave it.” 

2. Avoider
Agreed. Healthy fear keeps us safe. However, my irrational fear keeps me stuck every time I dare put my toes in the water. This avoider tends to make me miss important deadlines or put out fires.

Need to make payment for Meditation Teachers Training? Time to write a trainer manual for an upcoming workshop?

“Not now”, “I’m too busy.” “I’m not ready.” “Let’s try later.”

3. Restlessness
I used to think moving on to the next thing was fun. Now I know that being restless, is often based on nothing else but fear. Just in case I may not succeed, the voice of fear tells me to rather move on to the next thing. Look for the next opportunity.

Selling a brilliant coaching package?

“Don’t put all the eggs in one basket.” “I can still do better.” “Too many rejections to handle.” “Let’s rather do something else.”

With Shirzad’s help I am learning to identify, disengage and weaken my top three saboteurs. He calls it mental fitness; I call it spot & drop my “red flags of fear”.

And voila, as I get better in spotting my red flags of fear, I start moving forward. 

I pay for my very first retreat venue in full, I sign up for an international Meditation Teachers Training with Tara Brach and I market my irresistible coaching package.

I am afraid and do it anyway! 

To find your top red flags of fear, the saboteurs in your head that are holding you back click here for a FREE Positive Intelligence saboteur assessment. 

Sibylle Sharon is a Consciousness Coach™ and facilitates a 6-week mental fitness program.  Email hello@sibylle.co.za for an irresistible coaching package.

Afraid and doing it anyway, Sibylle is co-hosting her first Conscious Retreat from 25-28 August 2022 in Knysna, South Africa together with Alix Verrips, Award Winning Cookbook Author, Private Chef and Consciousness Coach. They are planning the next retreat in Mallorca, Spain, in May 2023.  

Sibylle is also a certified Time to Think™ coach and facilitator, an Enneagram enthusiast and teaches Yin Yoga at Virgin Active International, South Africa.